This invention relates to a lightweight floor covering installation device with interchangeable rollers and an adjustable handle. The installation device of the present invention is utilized to roll floor coverings which have been applied to the floor surface with adhesive. Typical floor coverings applied with the inventive device include vinyl, linoleum and carpets. The device may be adapted to other functions as well, such as a scraper, sander or paint roller.
The process of applying a glued floor covering to a floor surface consists of cutting the material to the approximate size and shape, laying the material on the floor and trimming to the exact dimensions, folding the material in half to expose the floor surface in half of the area to be covered, applying glue to either the floor or the lower surface of the covering, laying this first half down on the floor, then repeating the folding and gluing process for the other half of the covering. The floor covering is rolled with a roller to evenly spread the glue below the floor covering, and to remove any bubbles accidentally entrained in the glue beneath the floor covering.
A typical prior art floor covering roller weighs approximately 100 pounds and is provided with one or more rollers of eight inches or more in diameter. The weight and size of such rollers are fixed and cannot be varied. A number of problems are inherent in using the heavy, large diameter roller of the prior art. For example, when rolling carpets, vinyl or other materials the normal procedure involves rolling the floor covering from the center of the newly-applied covering outwardly toward the edge, or periphery. Large diameter rollers of the prior art are incapable of securing the periphery of the floor covering to the floor adjacent a wall, since their size prevents application closer to the wall than the radius of the roll. A toe-kick cavity under cabinets and the like, typically four inches above the floor with a three inch overhang, requires that the roller be less than about four inches in diameter. Small hand-held rollers are available in the trade, but the installer must use the devices on his knees and has very little if any leverage to roll floor coverings under in the toe-kick cavity, which precludes applying significant downward pressure on the floor covering.
Another inherent problem with the heavy rollers of the prior art is that they compress the floor covering in both directions of travel since they are too heavy to lift. It is generally believed that compressing the floor covering against the adhesive in one direction, generally from the center of the floor covering outwardly in all directions, is preferred, in order to uniformly distribute the adhesive beneath the covering. The back-and-forth action of such large rollers does not permit the removal of excess adhesive or bubbles, but merely moves them around the room. Consequently, bubbles and excess adhesive may remain in the center of the floor beneath the covering.
Vinyl floor coverings may be configured to extend upwardly on a wall, with a quarter-round concave wood molding piece installed in the corner at the intersection of the wall and floor, under the vinyl. In this case the vinyl terminates about two to three inches up the wall. It would be advantageous to provide a floor covering roller with a radius of curvature approximating the concave radius of the quarter-round placed in the corner to assist in the adhesion of the vinyl to the quarter-round.
Because of their size the large rollers are difficult to manipulate near walls, cabinets, etc., and can therefore damage plaster, wood, paint and wall board very easily.
Finally, the conventional method of glue application presents a problem not heretofore solved by prior art apparatus'. When vinyl or carpet is folded in half so that adhesive may be applied to the other half, and the process repeated with the remaining half, it is not uncommon for an excess, or overlap of glue to occur at the fold line. This overlap of more than one layer of glue creates a thicker glue layer at the fold line. When the fold line is rolled using a heavy roller the excess glue is forced into a backing layer of the floor covering (the hydrocord felt backing), such that it is visible through the vinyl.